Tables are extensively utilized in work environments such as offices and the like. While tables having height adjustability are known and have been utilized in such environment for many years, nevertheless the increased demands imposed on workers with respect to flexibility and adaptability of work space has likewise imposed increased demands on the flexibility and adaptability of equipment used in the work space, including tables. These demands require not only the ability to adjust the height of a table, but require that the height often times be adjustable over a greater range including a demand that the height be adjustable from a sitting height to a standing height. At the same time such adjustability must be able to be carried out frequently and efficiently without requiring complex or difficult mechanical maneuvers, while providing a table having the required strength and durability to function in the desired manner.
In addition, many tables have been developed which employ an enlarged top or worksurface which is cantilevered forwardly from a pair of height-adjustable legs, which legs are generally positioned adjacent the rear corners of the table so as to maximize the clearance space under the front side of the table to prevent interference with the legs of a user. Most of these tables have employed telescopic leg structures wherein an upper leg part is fixed to the underside of the worksurface and telescopes downwardly into a lower leg part which is fixed to an enlarged support foot which engages the floor. These telescopic leg structures are often provided with some type of a mechanism, such as a screw drive, which is either manually or power driven to provide height adjustment through a limited stroke which is normally a matter of a small number of inches. In the past the height adjustment has typically been about eight to ten inches although some have been as much as 14 inches.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide an improved table having a worksurface which is mounted to and cantilevered forwardly from a pair of telescopic height-adjustable legs, which table provides highly improved operational advantages in addition to providing desirable structural relationships for the height-adjusting legs, and in addition provides for improved aesthetics of the table.
More specifically, in the improved table of the present invention, the height-adjusting legs each includes an upper elongate tubular leg part which is fixed to the table top adjacent a rear corner thereof, with this upper tubular leg part projecting upwardly at least a limited vertical extent above the upper surface of the top so as to terminate in a visible top cap. This elongate upper leg part in turn projects downwardly below the table top and is telescoped onto and around a lower elongate leg part which projects upwardly into the upper leg part. This lower leg part in turn has the lower end thereof fixed to a support foot which bears on a support surface such as a floor. A height-adjusting mechanism projects interiorly of and generally vertically between the upper and lower leg parts.
An advantageous feature of the table of the present invention, as aforesaid, is the upward extension of the upper leg parts above the table top through a sufficient vertical extent as to permit components such as shelves, privacy screen, etc. to be mounted on and extend horizontally between the projecting portions of the upper leg parts, whereby the component is disposed substantially adjacent and projects upwardly adjacent the rear edge of the table top.
A further advantageous feature of the table of the present invention, as aforesaid, is the provision of a height-adjustment stroke which enables the table top to be vertically adjusted through a long stroke which accommodates both a sitting-height position and a standing-height position for the worker, with the height difference between these positions typically being about equal to or greater than the height of the table top when in the lowermost sitting position.
Still a further advantageous feature of the table according to the present invention, as aforesaid, is that the drive mechanism which connects and controls the telescopic extension or contraction of the upper and lower leg parts is a single stage drive mechanism which, due to its cooperation with the upper and lower leg parts, enables the height-adjustment stroke between the upper and lower positions to be approximately equal to or greater than the height between the floor and the table top when the latter is in its lowest position.
Other objects and purposes of the present invention will be apparent to persons familiar with structures of this general type upon reading the following specification and inspecting the accompanying drawings.